Gravitate
by readingandstuff
Summary: He thought it was only for protection. He wanted, more than anything, to protect her. But he soon noticed it wasn't only for safety. He would always sit a little bit closer to her than he would to Tucker. Well, then again, it would be weird if he sat that close to Tucker, but that was besides the point. One shot!


**Hey guys! I got kinda distracted from my current story and I thought of this fun little idea so I decided to just roll with it. I hope you enjoy it! :)**

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It wasn't even something he did on purpose. When he realized he did it, he figured he did it with everyone, to protect his loved ones. Yes, that made sense to him. Why wouldn't he be near his friends and family to keep them safe?

Sure, he usually sat next to her in class, but that was only because he was in the middle, so technically he was also next to Tucker. The same could also be said when they all walked home from school.

Undergrowth opened his eyes; he saw firsthand what ghosts can do to harm and manipulate her. It wasn't until after that oversized _weed_ that he noticed things were different. He was sure that he had been doing it before that, but it was only after the attack that he had become aware of it; him being subconsciously near her whenever he felt danger in the area. Whenever they were all out, whether it was school or even at the Nasty Burger, if his ghost sense went off, he would cautiously yet quickly glide to her feet, standing slightly in front of her, in position for the threat.

He was being pathetic; he knew she wasn't helpless. She has proved that countless times. He was completely aware of the amount of times _she_ has saved _his_ butt from his recklessness (as she wouldn't let him live it down). He knew that she was willing to put her life on the line to save her friends and the people of her town; that was something he loved about her, her ferocity and bravery. But that didn't mean he would just automatically just let her attempt to take down Skulker singlehandedly; which she had done when Danny was thrown to a wall, knocked out, and Tucker was on the other side of town, racing to the scene of the crime. She succeeded, but she didn't leave unscathed. Seeing Sam with all those gashes and blood shook him to his very core. She insisted she was okay but he knew better; she was hurt because he didn't protect her as well as he should have.

After that day, he walked a little closer to her, always observing their surroundings, always ready to pounce. He knew he was probably being a little over the top but he couldn't risk it, not again. He failed Sam with Undergrowth and he failed again with Skulker; he wasn't going to fail again.

Even Tucker noticed how protective he was being after an incident with Dash. He had come over when Danny wasn't around and snaked his arm around Sam. She was disgusted and made sure it showed as she tried to sneak away from him. Tucker was talking Dash down, trying to get him to leave, when Danny suddenly was next to Dash with his green eyes momentarily glowing. He blinked them back to blue as he calmly, albeit with gritted teeth, told Dash to leave her alone.

"What are you going to do about it Fentoenail?" he taunted. And although Sam said she was fine and had already left Dash's grasp, Danny clenched his fist. Tucker looked down and noticed Danny's hand glowing green and shaking in anger. His eyes widened in alarm as he quickly stepped between the jock and his glaring best friend and ended what could have been a very big disaster. He had confronted Danny later and demanded for answers that Danny didn't have the answers to. He figured he was this protective towards everyone.

Sam didn't notice the change in behavior until Gregor- err- Elliot. After she had dumped him for being, in her words, a lying asshole, she became aware of how Danny would step slightly in front of her every time Elliot would try to come up to her to apologize. And every time, she would cock her head in confusion towards Danny and he would sheepishly rub the back of his neck and chuckle nervously, not saying anything.

He thought it was only for protection. He wanted, more than anything, to protect her. But he soon noticed it wasn't only for safety. He would always sit a little bit closer to her than he would to Tucker. Well, then again, it would be weird if he sat that close to Tucker, but that was besides the point.

He would always smile when he saw in the hallways and stopped to talk to her, trying to get her to laugh. So what if he was a few minutes late to class- he had some Darth Vader impressions he needed to try on her. They would always lead to a groan but she always had a smile on her face and, whether she admitted it or not, she loved his shitty impressions. And that was worth being five minutes late to Lancer's class.

Sometimes, he would even try his luck and lay his hand on hers when she was upset, letting them intertwine, letting his cheeks get warm and smile when he sees her cheeks get a shade or two pinker. He would occasionally let himself get too close to her when they were alone and drifted his eyes down to her purple lips, which she then noticed and she would smirk in a way that drove him absolutely crazy. He, however, would never try getting any closer, leading to disappointment to both of them.

One day, Tucker had had enough of this back and forth so he cornered Danny, yelling at him to stop his charade and if wanted to be with Sam, then to be with her and not lead her on. Danny pinched his nose and leaned against the wall, avoiding Tucker.

"I just want to protect her" he replied guiltily. Tucker felt his anger slide off his back and softened his voice.

"Dude, we know that. But all know that it's more than that too." Danny finally looked at him and Tucker rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, bro. You can't think nobody noticed? We all have a running bet and if you tell her soon, I get at least twenty bucks" he smiled triumphantly and

Danny's eyes widened in shock. "What?!"

"Oh calm down. The point is; if you didn't know what you were doing, you do now. And you need to do something about it. Because I don't want you hurting my friend anymore" he stated as he started walking away from Danny before he paused momentarily and turned around to say "Oh, and try to do it in the next two weeks so I don't lose the bet".

It was after that conversation that he realized that he didn't hover _around_ Sam, he gravitated _towards_ her. Yes, he wanted to protect her more than anything but with that, he also just wanted to be with her. He loved their little moments and their inside jokes and her attitude towards his impressions. He wanted to be the one to keep her safe and he wanted to be able to hold her hand openly while he did.

He spent the rest of day contemplating his next course of action. He planned and planned but, of course, things never went as planned.

A couple days after the conversation with Tucker, the trio was walking home from school when Danny's ghost sense went off. He quickly transformed to Phantom and faced his opponent; Skulker. _Oh good_ , he smiled. He hadn't seen Skulker since he had hurt Sam so he knew he was going to have fun with him this time.

He showed no mercy. Sam and Tucker didn't even need to contribute, they just waited for him to finish up so they could eat the corndogs (well, tofudogs) that were waiting for them at Sam's house. Danny shot ectorays, threw multiple punches, until he finally froze Skulker, took out his Thermos and trapped him in it. He smirked at the current cage that Skulker was being held in as he transformed back to Fenton.

"Great!" He heard the sound of a clap and Danny's eyes shot up to Sam, who was currently smiling. He handed the Thermos to Tucker, who was staring at his friend in confusion but he took it anyway. He then slowly started walking towards Sam, still high on the adrenaline of giving Skulker a very nice ass whooping. "Now, we can eat! I bought a different brand of tofudogs this time so you might like this one- Danny? What are you doing?"

The only answer she got was Danny grabbing her by the waist, pulling her closer, and looking at her in the eyes intensely before he brought his lips down to hers, pressing against them gently. Her eyes widened at the drastic change of events and she kept her hands straight at her sides stiffly, not entirely sure what to do with them. What do you do with your hands when someone is kissing you? Well, first, how do you get over the shock of it?

Wait a minute; he kissed her, he is right now in this moment exchanging saliva with her and she's not even kissing him back? She closed her eyes and was finally about to respond when he slowly pulled away, looking regretful and avoiding her pleading stare to kiss her again.

"I'm sorry" he whispered, taking his hands off her waist.

"What…What happened?" she somehow let out, blinking several times quickly like a crazy person. Danny bit his lip nervously and chewed on it before he finally looked at Sam and answered,

"I want to protect you, Sam. And I think a part of me also wanted to protect you from myself and the baggage that comes along with everything that comes with Phantom. You're in danger. You're always in danger with me. That whole thing with Skulker crushed me. It crushed me, Sam. I never want to see you like that again. And it's gonna be tough for us. I mean, you gotta know how difficult it's gonna-" he would've continued rambling if not for Sam crashing her lips into Danny's lips again and interrupting whatever irrelevant thought was coursing through his head. He quickly responded as she brought him closer by wrapping her arms around his neck and he sighed into the kiss. She continued kissing him feverishly, trying to get closer to him, even though there was no space left between them. He had his hands on her waist again, gripping slightly. There was no way in _hell_ he was going back to not kissing Sam after this, he decided. He brought his hands up and held her arms, which were still wrapped around him. Regretfully, they slowly pulled away from their kiss that he would later describe as the 'Ghost King' of kisses.

She lowered her arms down to her sides and he kept his hands on hers, interlocking them as he stared at her both in shock and in absolute head over heels joy.

"So… That's different" she announced, which for some reason, made Danny guffaw and throw his head back in laughter before he laid a small kiss on her forehead.

"I like different" he smiled at her, which then grew when she smiled at him back.

"Yeah so do I but maybe don't do it in front from me!" Danny and Sam froze and turned red before they turned to their friend who had been witnessing their little proclaim of love. He had his arms crossed and tapping his foot, feigning anger. Danny was just about to apologize before Tucker pumped his fist in the air and yelled out in accomplishment, throwing Sam aback.

"Hell yeah man, I just won fifty bucks!" Sam grew very much confused as she leaned into Danny. "What the hell is he talking about?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know" he acknowledged, shaking his head in disapproval. But as he looked away from Tucker, who was still celebrating, and turned to Sam, he didn't give a shit about it; let Tucker have his bet. The way he was looking at her, the way he was _finally_ able to look at her and the way she was looking at him right back, he would've been okay if Tucker bet a million dollars on them. Hell, he would've been okay if Tucker told the world he wore boxer briefs. None of that mattered now. All that mattered was him and Sam and the realization that when he inevitably gravitated towards her, whether in the hallway or walking home or just plain existing near each other, nobody would question it again.

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 **This was actually really fun to write. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it- if you did, let me know, I would love to read it :)**

 **P.S. It was nighttime when I started this and now the sun is completely out. I should maybe sleep now. Yeah, I think I'll do that.**

 **-reading and stuff**


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